NO WASTE! USE OFFCUTS FROM THE SNOWBALL UNITS TO MAKE TWO COORDINATING CUSHIONS
YOU WILL NEED Quilt
■ Fabric A (purple): 33/4yds
■ Fabric B (navy): 3/4yd
■ Fabric C (yellow): 3/4yd
■ Fabric D (light blue): 3/4yd
■ Fabric E (orange): 3/4yd
■ Fabric F (pink): 3/4yd
■ Binding fabric: 1/2yd
■ Backing fabric: 37/ 8yds
■ Batting: 68in square
FINISHED SIZE
■ 60in square
NOTES
■ Seam allowances are ¼in throughout,
unless otherwise noted.
■ Press seams open throughout, unless
otherwise instructed.
■ RST = right sides together.
■ HST = Half-square Triangles.
■ WOF = width of fabric.
■ Quilted by Laura Money of The Gathering Quilt (@thegatheringquilt on Instagram).
■ Fabric supplied by FIGO
Fabrics (figofabrics.com).
FABRICS USED
All fabrics are from the Arcadia collection by Pippa Shaw for FIGO Fabrics.
CUTTING OUT
1 From Fabric A cut:
■ Seven (7) 81/2in x WOF. Subcut
twenty five (25) 81/2in squares.
■ Seven (7) 3¼in x WOF. Subcut
seventy six (76) 3¼in squares.
■ Seven (7) 27/ 8in x WOF. Subcut
one hundred (100) 27/ 8in squares.
■ Nine (9) 21/2in x WOF. Subcut fifty (50)
21/2in x 41/2in and fifty (50) 21/2in squares.
2 From Fabric B cut:
■ Four (4) 5¼in x WOF. Subcut twenty five (25) 5¼in squares.
3 From each of Fabrics C and E cut:
■ Three (3) 41/2in x WOF. Subcut twenty five (25) 41/2in squares and three (3) 3¼in squares.
■ One (1) 3¼in x WOF. Subcut ten (10)
3¼in squares and three (3) 21/2in squares.
■ Two (2) 21/2in x WOF. Subcut twenty
two (22) 21/2in squares.
4 From each of Fabrics D and F cut:
■ Three (3) 41/2in x WOF. Subcut twenty five (25) 41/2in squares and three (3) 3¼in squares.
■ Three (3) 3¼in x WOF. Subcut twenty two (22) 3¼in squares.
5 From the binding fabric cut:
■ Seven (7) 21/2in x WOF.
PREPARATION
6 Draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of all the Fabric C, Fabric D, Fabric E and Fabric F 41/2in squares, using a removable fabric marker. Also draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of the Fabric A 27/ 8in squares, Fabric C and E 21/2in squares and Fabric A 3¼in squares.
PIECING THE SNOWBALL UNITS
7 With RST and noting the orientation of the marked guideline, place one marked Fabric C 41/2in square on the top left corner of one Fabric A 81/2in square, and
then place one marked Fabric E 41/2in square on the bottom right corner of the same Fabric A 81/2in square. Sew on the marked lines, as shown in Fig 1.
8 If you are making the cushion pair, see the box-out at the top of p19 for instructions on constructing HSTs from the snowball units. If you are not making the bonus HSTs, trim ¼in from the sewn line and press the corner open (Fig 2).
9 Repeat the process in steps 7– 8 to add a Fabric D corner to the top right, and a Fabric F corner to the bottom left (Fig 3). Use the bonus HST method, as mentioned in step 8, if you will be making the cushion to make the Fabric A/D and Fabric A/F HSTs. This completes one Snowball unit.
10 Repeat steps 7–9 to make a total of twenty five Snowball units.
PIECING THE HALF GEESE UNITS
11 Take one Fabric C 2½in square, and place it RST at one end of a Fabric A 2½in x 4½in rectangle, noting the orientation of the marked diagonal. Sew along the marked line, then trim ¼in from the line and press open (Fig 4). This completes one Half Geese unit.
12 Repeat step 11 to make a total of twenty five Half Geese units using a Fabric C corner as well as twenty five Half Geese units using a Fabric E corner.
PIECING THE FLYING GEESE UNITS
13 Place two Fabric A 27/ 8in squares in opposite corners of a Fabric B 5¼in square. The Fabric A squares should be RST with the Fabric B square, with the marked diagonals going across the square. The two small squares will overlap slightly in the middle (Fig 5). Pin in place.
14 Sew ¼in from either side of the marked lines. Cut on the marked line and press the small triangles away from the larger triangle for each unit (Fig 6).
15 Place another Fabric A 27/ 8in square RST with each of the units in the corner of the large triangle. Sew ¼in from either side of the marked lines. Cut along the line for each unit and press open to make four Flying Geese, as shown in Fig 7.
16 Repeat steps 13–15 to make a total of one hundred Flying Geese.
PIECING THE HST UNITS
17 Pair a Fabric A and Fabric C 3¼in square RST. Sew ¼in from either side of the marked line. Cut along the marked line and press the units open (Fig 8). Then trim each HST to measure 2½in square.
18 Repeat the process in step 17 to make the following HSTs. Note there will one extra Fabric A/C and Fabric A/E HST. Discard or save it for another project.
■ Twenty six (26) Fabric A/C.
■ Fifty (50) Fabric A/D.
■ Twenty six (26) Fabric A/E.
■ Fifty (50) Fabric A/F.
BLOCK ASSEMBLY
19 Arrange the sewn units with two Fabric A 3½in squares, referring to Fig 9 for correct orientation. Sew the side units into columns and then sew the top and bottom units into rows.
20 Sew the short side columns to either side of the Snowball unit. Then sew the longer rows to the top and the bottom in order to complete one block.
21 Repeat steps 19–20 in order to make a total of twenty five blocks.
PIECING THE QUILT TOP
22 Arrange the blocks in five rows of five. Sew the blocks together in rows and press the seams as you go. Then sew the rows together to complete the top, pressing seams open or to one side.
QUILTING AND FINISHING
23 Cut the backing fabric in half across the width. Remove the selvedges and sew the two pieces together using a ½in seam. Press the seams open.
24 Press the quilt top and backing well. Make a quilt sandwich by placing the backing fabric right side down, the batting on top, then place the quilt top centrally and right side up. Baste the three layers together using your preferred method.
25 Quilt as desired. Laura Money of The Gathering Quilt quilted the panto Retro Tile 5, which features a swirling pattern that contrasts nicely against the straight lines of the HST units. Trim off the excess batting and backing fabrics and then square up the quilt.
26 Sew the seven 2½in x WOF binding strips together end-to-end using diagonal seams. Press the seams open and trim the dog ears. Fold in half lengthways, wrong sides together, and press.
27 Sew the joined binding strip to the right side of the quilt, creating a neat mitre at each corner. Fold the binding over to the back of the quilt and secure temporarily with pins or clips. Hand stitch in place around the edge to finish.